In the beginning of 2023, Twitch streamer MissMikkaa made headlines for beating Elden Ring’s infamous rot queen, Malenia, Blade of Miquella, with two utterly totally different controllers on the similar time. It was a ridiculous feat of dexterity and focus, however would you imagine this methodology of play was how she completed FromSoftware’s newest Soulslike in its entirety? Properly, it seems MissMikkaa has been embarking on what she’s dubbed the “Final Problem Run” and, now that she’s wrapped up Elden Ring, she’s doing the identical factor with Darkish Souls Remastered.
Problem runs aren’t new throughout the FromSoft neighborhood. Kotaku has reported on loads of wild ones, from utilizing a drawing pill to enjoying with an digital saxophone. MissMikkaa’s, nonetheless, might be essentially the most intense problem run I’ve seen in a minute as she performs two copies of the FromSoft sport concurrently with two several types of controller inputs: a DDR-compatible dance pad and a PlayStation 5 DualSense. That is the premise for her “Final Problem Run.” As MissMikkaa specifies in her livestream overlays, the objective is to “kill bosses on the identical strive on each sport cases” utilizing the 2 totally different controllers. Kotaku caught up with MissMikkaa to select her mind about enjoying FromSoft video games in such a peculiar and tough method.
This Takes Heaps Of Focus To Pull Off
MissMikkaa defined the method of establishing the “Final Problem Run,” together with the mannequin of the dance pad she’s utilizing. After getting the dance pad hooked as much as her PC, she used the software program remapper JoyToKey to synch the pad’s motion arrows to the WASD keys, with the opposite buttons performing actions like attacking, dodging, therapeutic, and the like. The dance pad has a restricted variety of buttons, although, so she would generally need to “create particular profiles for sure bosses or situations” to modify between earlier than encounters just like the one with Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy. However apart from fine-tuning the dance pad’s keybindings, this “Final Problem Run” challenged MissMikkaa in lots of different methods.
“At first, I had a variety of hassle specializing in enjoying two video games directly. It’s not a simple job attempting to place your character, assault, dodge, and heal twice as a lot as what you’re used to,” MissMikkaa tells Kotaku. “There have been a number of days the place I used to be feeling mentally fatigued from the quantity of labor my mind was doing, however the additional I received within the run the extra used to it I grew to become. Bodily it wasn’t a lot totally different from the earlier runs I had finished, fortunately I used to be already used to 6-hour dance pad classes. Halfway via this run there have been undoubtedly a number of moments of easy crusing, however in the direction of the top, issues undoubtedly received a lot more durable and that was additionally partially used as a motivator to get me via.”
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Focus was tough to take care of throughout your entire run, MissMikkaa says. Taking part in a FromSoft sport, whether or not that’s Bloodborne or Sekiro, can already seem to be an insurmountable problem requiring tons of focus. These are punishing video games, in spite of everything! Including a second layer on high—that’s, enjoying one other occasion of the identical sport however with a separate controller concurrently—will increase each the extent of problem you’ll face when enjoying and the main target required. Gravity killed her, so much, as a result of she “misplaced monitor of [her] character’s place and as an alternative targeted extra on attacking and dodging.” However navigation received higher as time went on.
The Bosses Have been Equally Difficult
As you would possibly anticipate with a FromSoft sport, the bosses have been a specific sore spot for this “Final Problem Run.” MissMikkaa says she died some 198 instances to Malenia and her lengthy sword alone. It doesn’t examine to the extent 1 dance pad run she did again in October, during which she died over 500 instances to the goddess, however she nonetheless factors to Malenia as a real take a look at.
“Malenia was by far the toughest boss on this run,” MissMikkaa admits. “She is a real take a look at of ability and expertise in most problem runs. It was a variety of trial and error to kill Malenia each with regard to determining what construct I wished to make use of and simply attempting to outlive once I received two waterfowl dances on the similar time. However moreover the plain reply, I had a variety of hassle with Margit resulting from falling out of the world. I used to be additionally struggling so much with Mohg, particularly along with his second part transition since I didn’t use any in-game objects like Mohg’s Shackle or Purifying Crystal Tear.”
That she prevented herself from utilizing particular gear additionally added to the issue. MissMikkaa says she not solely tried to “not use any weapons or Ashes of Battle that may be thought-about too ‘OP’,” however she additionally couldn’t summon anybody or use any of the spirit ashes in battle.
It was simply her, the enemies in entrance of her, and her two controller inputs. That’s it. Along with these self-imposed limitations, MissMikkaa explains that she relegated herself to sure sorts of character builds, beginning with a strength-focused one to start with earlier than switching to an arcane one for the late sport. Fortunately her gear of selection—bleed weapons reminiscent of the Nice Stars nice hammer and high-defense armor like the Bull-Goat set—helped ease the restrictions just a little bit by letting her “outpoise [a boss’] poise harm as a way to hit them via their assaults.” She’s tanky. And naturally, as a result of she’s enjoying two copies of the identical sport, she’s pressured to have gear parity between her two characters.
Giving Up On This Was By no means In The Playing cards
No matter how difficult this “Final Problem Run” has been for MissMikkaa, she guarantees that she “by no means as soon as thought of giving up.” The issue is a giant cause why she was so motivated to complete the problem. She discovered herself adapting to the method after each livestream and, as soon as she received to Malenia, who’s already an non-obligatory endgame boss, MissMikkaa mentioned she was “fairly assured” that she might beat the queen of rot alongside most of the sport’s different brutal enemies.
“The best a part of this run was conserving myself motivated all through,” MissMikkaa explains. “It was a enjoyable problem and I loved each side of studying and mastering it. I really like discovering new methods to problem myself, particularly in Elden Ring. This concept was probably not significantly thought-about at first, however when I discovered myself with an additional seize card in my streaming PC I began pondering to myself, ‘What would occur if I performed two video games directly?’ At first, I used to be not sure if the problem was even potential to start with, and so have been the folks round me. However I used to be sort of curious to see how far I might go. I’ve received to say…I’ve by no means had so many individuals coming in and questioning my sanity as I’ve throughout this run.”
I imply, I’m questioning MissMikkaa’s sanity, too. It’s laborious sufficient stepping right into a FromSoft boss enviornment on only one platform. Doing that twice, on the similar time, with one among your controllers being basically a slipper bathtub mat, and nonetheless strolling away victorious makes me each envious of her expertise and stoked about her accomplishment. Speak about “getting good.”
MissMikkaa tells us she completed Elden Ring round January 8, performing an All Remembrances playthrough which requires you beat a FromSoft sport by defeating all of the bosses that drop consumable “boss souls.” Since then, she’s been bouncing between video games on Twitch, like Forspoken and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, whereas embarking on one other “Final Problem Run” in Darkish Souls Remastered. Sooner or later, she mentioned she needs to play via Elden Ring with “an actual guitar,” with actions like attacking and therapeutic tied to full chords as an alternative of simply particular person strings. Lord assist her.